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A slowdown in private tech valuations over the past year took a sizeable bite out of venture capital returns, a review of public records show. Many high-profile VC firms, including True Ventures, Union Square Ventures and Foundry Group, saw long-term returns of some funds shrink.

As the recent sales of LinkedIn, ARM Holdings, Dollar Shave Club and Yahoo suggest, acquisitions are once again in vogue for bigger companies looking for growth. And venture capitalists are increasingly recommending to founders that they consider selling.

As mutual funds continue to mark down the value of their private tech holdings, venture capitalists say they are facing more questions from their investors about how they are valuing the same companies on their books.

When it comes to building cyber defenses, the government and entrepreneurs are fast becoming bedfellows. A decade ago, the two camps barely interacted. Today, they are working together closely. As attackersget more sophisticated, the public and private sectorsneed intelligence from each other. ...